Catherine Ryan Hyde has an ability to teach her characters something in every novel she writes, all while leaving the reader feeling hopeful at the turn of the last page. Her newest is no different.
This one is the story of Roseanna, a NYC lawyer who leaves her job and home behind after the death of her coworker and friend. She settles in a small farmhouse in the country where she meets her squatters, a group of people who won’t seem to leave the property. Expecting peace and solitude, she is disrupted by their presence and tries to figure out the best way to get them to go.
I definitely appreciated the message of this novel. Compared to her past few books, this one lacked a little bit of plot for me. But that didn’t take away from that feeling of wanting to run away from it all. I’m sure many with a high-stress job will find this book relatable.
I also love how she incorporates animals into every story. They become as much of characters as their human companions. And I appreciated how this story was not wrapped up with a big velvet bow. The situations were realistic and there were still life lessons to be learned.
My thanks to he publisher for the review copy.
About the author: Catherine Ryan Hyde is the author of thirty-three published books. Her bestselling 1999 novel, Pay It Forward, adapted into a major Warner Bros. motion picture, made the American Library Association’s Best Books for Young Adults list and was translated into more than two dozen languages for distribution in more than thirty countries. Her novels Becoming Chloe and Jumpstart the World were included on the ALA’s Rainbow List; Jumpstart the World was also a finalist for two Lambda Literary Awards and won Rainbow Awards in two categories. The Language of Hoofbeats won a Rainbow Award. More than fifty of her short stories have been published in many journals, including the Antioch Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, the Virginia Quarterly Review, Ploughshares, Glimmer Train, and the Sun, and in the anthologies Santa Barbara Stories and California Shorts, as well as the bestselling anthology Dog Is My Co-Pilot. Her short fiction received honorable mention in the Raymond Carver Short Story Contest, a second-place win for the Tobias Wolff Award, and nominations for Best American Short Stories, the O. Henry Award, and the Pushcart Prize. Three have also been cited in Best American Short Stories.
Hyde is the founder and former president of the Pay It Forward Foundation. As a professional public speaker, she has addressed the National Conference on Education, twice spoken at Cornell University, met with AmeriCorps members at the White House, and shared a dais with Bill Clinton. An avid equestrian, photographer, and traveler, she lives in California.
Thanks to the publisher, I have one copy to give away to a lucky reader. U.S. only, please. Enter on the Rafflecopter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
About the author: USA Today bestselling author Meredith Jaeger was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, the daughter of a Swiss father and an American mother. While working for a San Francisco start-up, Meredith fulfilled her dream of writing a novel, the result of which was The Dressmaker,s Dowry. Meredith lives in Alameda with her husband, their infant daughter, and their bulldog.
About the author: Bryan Reardon is the author of the New York Times best selling novel, Finding Jake. For the past decade, he has also worked as a freelance writer specializing in medical communications, and as a ghost writer. He co-wrote Ready, Set, Play with retired NFL player and ESPN analyst Mark Schlereth and Cruel Harvest. Prior to becoming a full-time writer, Bryan worked for the State of Delaware for over a decade, starting in the Office of the Governor. He holds a BA in psychology from the University of Notre Dame and lives in West Chester, Pennsylvania, with his wife, kids, and rescue dog, Simon.